1763-1774

"Taxation without representation
is tyranny!"
- Patrick Henry

After losing The French and Indian War (1754-1763), France ceded to Great
Britain vast territories in America.
But now deeply in debt, King George III ordered Americans to house royal
troops at their own expense and imposed new taxes.
When taxes escalated throughout the 1760s and early 1770s, colonial outrage
rose to the boiling point!

Protest erupted into violence, resulting in a "massacre"
on the streets of Boston. A boycott of British goods finally forced Parliament
to repeal all the taxes ... except for the tax on tea.

After atea party was thrown in Boston
Harbor, King George punished the troublemakers
by shutting down the harbor in order to force the city into submission.
The thirteen colonies not only smuggled in food and supplies, they vowed
to unite together.